


ive read better remarks on the back of cereal boxes

by softgreyearl



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Based on a Tumblr Post, College, College AU, LMAO, Sad, Skateboarding Louis, UCLA, angsty, eventually, fast build up, idk - Freeform, idk what this is, idk when this will update, its ok, just listen - Freeform, not a slow build up at all, or dont, please read it, uh, weirdos with tea and sweaters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-24
Updated: 2015-03-24
Packaged: 2018-03-19 09:34:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3605217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softgreyearl/pseuds/softgreyearl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Styles is a naive, extremely tall boy who wears headscarves and soft sweaters and dumb ratty brown boots. He didn’t know what he did wrong when a group of college students surrounded him, screaming obscene words and kicking him all over, leaving him bruised and coughing up blood in the alley next to his apartment. He didn’t know why he thought it would be a good idea to cut through the alley with strange cat-calling men in it. He just didn’t know anything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	ive read better remarks on the back of cereal boxes

**Author's Note:**

> aka i'm not good at summaries or making titles but I'm larry af

Harry Styles is a naive, extremely tall boy who wears headscarves and soft sweaters and dumb ratty brown boots. He didn’t know what he did wrong when a group of college students surrounded him, screaming obscene words and kicking him all over, leaving him bruised and coughing up blood in the alley next to his apartment. He didn’t know why he thought it would be a good idea to cut through the alley with strange cat-calling men in it. He just didn’t know anything.  
What he did know, however, is that at some point during the fight- if you could call it that, honestly, he just got beat up- a beautiful man that looked quite like an angel ran in and scooped Harry up, a few other boys following him and beating the men who had hurt Harry until they were on the ground. The man holding Harry pushed his hair out of his eyes, murmuring soothing words into his ear softly. He thinks he passed out soon afterwards, but no one really knows what happened that night.  
Harry woke up in someone’s bed. He frantically racked his mind, trying to figure out who he could have gone home with, who he could have made a huge mistake with the night before. It suddenly hit him when he sat up and his ribs screamed in agony. He let out a loud yelp, his head thunking back onto the pillow. Almost instantly, footsteps ran into the bedroom he was in, the door slamming whooshing open.  
“Are you okay?” A voice asked loudly, and Harry winced in response as he realized the voice was the man who had helped him last night. The man was probably shorter than Harry, and looked about as angelic as he did last night. His hair swept to the side like feathers, and his eyes were a pretty bright blue. Harry could write sonnets about his eyes.  
“I’m okay” He lied, voice thick in his throat. He sat up slowly, squeezing his eyes shut due to the pain,” Have you got an ice pack?” Blue eyes nodded quickly, moving out of the room as fast as he probably could. Harry sighed, standing up on shaky legs. He noticed he was no longer wearing his jeans and was now in just his boxers and his shirt from last night. After a few moments of thinking, he decided he was in too much pain to be embarrassed and was quite glad he wasn’t stuck in skinny jeans while he slept. Blue eyes came back with a back of peas wrapped in a tattered white and red towel. He pressed it to Harry’s eye softly, and Harry was too focused on his injuries to notice how close he was. Louis, however, was not injured and realized how close they were very quickly, and pulled away. They both sat down on the bed, sitting in silence.  
Harry looked around the bedroom, pressing the peas to different spots of his body for minutes at a time. The comforter seemed to be for a young boy, blue and red with a cartoon spiderman at the bottom. There was a dresser on the other side of the room, a bookshelf filled with various knickknacks and books, and a large fan. To the right of the bed there was a nightstand, as well as a wall that seemed to be entirely made of broken mirror parts. Harry stared at the other boy through the mirrors, watching as the boy occasionally glanced at Harry before forcing himself to tear his eyes away, he guessed so Harry wouldn’t catch him.  
“Louis Tomlinson,” The boy started, clearing his throat,” This is my apartment. You got beat up last night. I don’t know where you live so I let you sleep in my room.” His eyes moved to the glass wall, still staring at Harry.  
“Harry Styles. I got beat up last night because i’m a ‘faggot who slept with his slut of a brother’. I’m a freshman at UCLA. I like taking pictures and looking at pretty things. I like rain and aliens and cold coffee and sea salt. I like singing and classic music and pretty boys with hair like feathers and long eyelashes. I wear sweaters and boots and suffocate my balls in black skinny jeans everyday. I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety, but i’m in recovery. I’m still kinda messed up, though.” He tried not to ramble, but it happened and it’s not like he could take it back. So he sat in silence, listening to Louis breathe.  
“I like smoke in cold weather and rain. I like singing and dancing around and paint on grey stone. I like tea and tall boys that wear soft sweaters and boots who are freshmen at UCLA and are in my photography class, which I only took because my best friend’s friend’s little brother is in it.” Louis mumbled softly, standing up and stretching his arms out.  
“Do you have tea?” Harry managed, deciding on ignoring Louis’s other comments. He knew they were about him, but he’d rather not address it while his head was pounding. Getting back onto his feet, he ran a hand through his hair.  
“Yeah. What kind?”  
“Surprise me. I hate tea.”  
“Alright.”  
Louis walked out of the room, rubbing his hands together nervously. Harry followed him quietly, examining the rest of the apartment. There were polaroids scattering the walls, pictures of Louis with little girls he assumed were his sisters, pictures of Louis with two very handsome men, a picture of Louis kissing a nice looking girl’s cheek while she giggled. Harry nodded to himself, picking a leaf off a small plant as he walked past.  
“I don’t get you.” Louis stated as he moved towards the kettle, Harry sliding into a stool at the bar.  
“What do you mean?”  
“You can just not talk for hours but ramble on as soon as you get the chance. It’s like you’re keeping everything inside and the dam bursts when you open your mouth.”  
Harry shrugged,” I guess. Words are just hard.”  
“I suppose you’re right, Harry Styles.”  
“I suppose I am, Louis Tomlinson.”  
There was a moment’s silence.  
“If you hate tea, would you prefer I make you coffee?”  
“The dust on your coffee machine makes me afraid of you doing so.”  
Louis glanced at the coffee machine and shrugged, grabbing a mug from a shelf he could barely reach,” If you’d prefer tea…”  
“I’ll take coffee.”  
He had a great deal of trouble admitting he lost to a coffee machine.  
Harry curled up into the corner of the plush grey couch, sipping his tea slowly. Louis sat in a chair across from him, watching him as he drank his own tea.  
“Have you got a boyfriend?”  
“No.” Harry replied, taking a gulp of tea.  
“Have you got an apartment?”  
“Yes.”  
“Would you like me to take you home?”  
“No.”  
“Why not?”  
“I like your place.”  
Louis nodded, slurping some tea. Harry pushed up his sleeves, his bracelets falling down his wrists. He pulled a hair tie off his wrist, pulling his hair up into a tiny bun. Louis watched him, smiling fondly.  
“You’re sweet.” Harry sighed out, his voice small.  
“You’re adorable.” The other boy replied, giving Harry a smile.  
“I hurt.” Harry whined back, letting his head fall back.  
“I know. Use the peas.”  
“That sounds weird.”  
“You sound weird.” Louis giggled, tucking his feet underneath his body.  
“Would you like to sleep at my apartment tonight to make up for this?”  
“That is a provocative offer. I will accept it.”  
“Good.” Harry squinted at the bookshelf across from him, reading the titles of the books.  
“I have to leave for work in a minute.”  
Harry glanced at the giant clock to the left of him, sighing through his nose when he realized it was way past noon,” I can wait here.” Louis’s eyebrows rose and Harry almost regretted saying that.  
“Alright. If you want to. Stay out my drawers.” He stood up, setting his mug on the coffee table. The man walked to the bedroom again, shutting the door behind him. Harry sat alone until the doorbell rang. He moved slowly towards the door, staring at the package on the floor for a few minutes before Louis showed up next to him and picked it up. Harry followed him back into the apartment, shutting the front door behind him.  
“What’s in the package?” Harry asked, peeking over Louis’s shoulder.  
“Baby clothes and condoms.” Louis giggled.  
“Aren’t you a little young to have a baby?” The taller boy asked, but was slightly excited by the idea of a baby being around.  
“It’s a joke with Gemma.” Louis explained,” You see, she finds me taking drunk people to my home a lot so they don’t end up in accidents. She thinks I hook up with all of them and i’m gonna end up getting someone pregnant.”  
Harry nodded, kind of surprised by his sister being mentioned. They looked at the clothes together, laughing at the different flavors of condoms given to Louis.  
“I’ve got to go now, babe.” Louis whispered, kissing Harry’s forehead.  
Harry nodded,” Have fun.”  
Louis nodded as well,” I’ll try.” Then Harry watched as Louis walked out the door and it hit him how domesticated it felt when they had only just met.  
“Fuck.” He whispered, actually feeling himself fall for the blue eyed man.

**Author's Note:**

> this has a ton of references and write world (writeworld.tumblr.com) block sentences and its terribly great so yeah leave a comment please  
> (whichdirectiontorun.tumblr.com)  
> my first real fanfict


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